Oregon State-produced documentary to be screened at BendFilm Festival

BEND, Ore. – An Oregon State University-produced feature-length documentary about the decline of coral reefs will be screened at the BendFilm Festival at 6 p.m. Oct. 12 at the Regal Old Mill theater.

"Saving Atlantis” focuses on the dramatic decline of coral reef ecosystems around the world and the impact on people who depend on them.

The film’s producers spent three years filming coral microbiologist Rebecca Vega Thurber and other researchers from Oregon State and around the world who are uncovering the causes of coral decline and looking to find solutions so they don’t disappear.

The documentary is narrated by Emmy-winning narrator Peter Coyote, who has voiced several documentaries by Ken Burns, including last year’s “The Vietnam War.”

The documentary has been screened at six other film festivals and at universities and venues around the world. Additionally, starting Oct. 1 schools, libraries, non-profits and government groups can license the documentary through Collective Eye Films.

All proceeds from the documentary will be used to allow student filmmakers, writers and artists to document the research of other OSU scientists and students in a new initiative to fuse science and storytelling.

David Baker and Justin Smith, both part of Oregon State Productions and producers of Saving Atlantis, will also speak Oct. 12 during Discovery Day at OSU-Cascades in Bend. The talk will take place from 3 to 3:45 p.m. in room 205 of Tykeson Hall.